Garment-supporting device.



, Patented July lo, |900. `l?. n. PERRY. GARMENT SUPPORTING DEVICE.

' (Appucatian med sept. 25, 1899.)

(No Model.)

NITE STATES GEORGE R. PERRY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GARMENT-SUPPORTING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,260, dated July 10, 1900.

Application led September 25, 1899. Serial No. 731,527. (ITo model.)

the county of Kings and State of New York,

have invented' certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporting Devices, of which the following is a specification sufficient to enable others skilled in the art to Io,which the invention appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is designed more especially for masculine attire, although it may also be adapted to feminine attire. The object is the I 5 avoidance of the use or necessity for shoulder straps, braces, or other means of supporting lower garments directly upon the shoulders of the wearer.

My invention relates to means for suspend- 2o ing or attaching lower garments to upper garments, and is designed to dispense with the use of buckles and other oxidizable metallic expedients and to afford a simple, cheap, and effective device, which is tlexible throughout,

having no hard, lumpy, or irregular portions or folds toirritate and discomfort the wearer; and the invention consists, primarily, in an upper garment formed with one or more loopbands of flexible material having a series of 3o loops, each adapted to support the bight of an elastic suspender-tab provided with means for attachment to a lower garment, and, secondarily, in arching the bearing-surface of each loop to facilitate the play or slip of the bight 3 5 of the suspender-tab in adapting itself to the requirements of use and in combining and using with such arched bearing a suspendertab of round elastic cord formed with buttonhole-loops for engagement with buttons upon 4o the lower garment, substantially as hereinafter set forth.

By my improved means ample adjustment is aorded in connecting the upper and lower garments, since the suspender-tab may be readily passed through any of the loops in the loop-band, thereby limiting and sustaining the relation of the two garments in a general way, while the elasticity of the suspender-tab and the ease with which its bight slips over 5o the arched bearing of the loop permit the garments to adapt themselves readily and without danger of rupture to all movements of the body, the resilience of the suspendertab and the arched bearing of the loop tending constantly to return the parts to their normal positions without inconvenience or discomfort to the wearer. This is all accomplished without resort to buckles or other hard rigid appliances and without doubling, folding, or creasing any portion of the device, thereby avoiding undesirable thicknesses or protuberance in any part, and consequently all possibility of chafing or irritating the skin of the wearer. Furthermore, my loop-band, with its plurality of loops independently and collectively secured to the body of the upper garment, receives and distributes the strain evenly, each loop reinforcing that above, and A this result is further contributed to by the curved or arched form of attachment of each loop to the garment, such arching of the bearing-surface preventing puekering and distributin g the strain to all the stitches or fastenings alike, while facilitating the play or slip of the bight of the suspender-tab through the loop.

It will be seen that by myinvention I preserve all parts of the device intact, there being no perforations and consequent weakening of any part by buckles, neither is there any possibility of rust or discoloration by oxidizable metallic substances.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures l and 2 illustrate, diagrammatically, the application of my invention to male attire. Fig. 3 is an elevation of adjoining portions of an upper and. lower garment connected by one of my new supporting devices. Fig. 4 is a section upon plane of line -l Ll, Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a section upon line 5 5, Fig. 4L

In carrying out myinvention a suitable number (preferably three) of the loop-bands B are attached tothe upper or body garment U. The loop-bands B are sewed or otherwise firmly attached to the upper garment U, preferably at points corresponding in position to those usually occupied by the tabs of shoulder straps or braces. Thus two may be secured to the front of the upper garment andV one to the rear thereof, as indicated in Figs. l and 2. Each loop-band-ispreferablyformed with a plurality of loops Z Z, arranged one above the other, through which the suspender-tabs S may be passed. The lower inner IOO bearing-surfaces Z) b are preferably curved in the arc of a circle, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in section in Fig. 5, for the purpose of facilitating the passage and play of the suspender-tab S. Any desired number of loops may be provided in each loop-band B, according to the degree of variability or adjustability desired, the suspender-tab being inserted in one or the other of the loops, as may be found desirable in adapting the garments to the convenience or comfort of the wearer The suspender-tabs S are made of elastic material, so as to yield readily under strain, while tending constantly to keep the parts taut and in proper relative positions. The ends of the tabs S are formed with buttonholes for engagement with the buttons t t upon the trousers T or other form of lower garment. It is obvious that any other means of connecting the tabs S with the lower garment T may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and intent of my invention.

The upper extremity b' of the loop-band B may alone be secured to the upper garment, if desired, the lower portion containing the loops Z Zbeing dependent therefrom, in which case the loop-band B should be made of cornparatively heavy strong material, as canvas, leather, 85o.

A preferable form of loop-band is that shown in the drawings, which may be made of light cloth or fabric, the band being secured to the upper garment not only at both extremities, but also just below the bearing-surfaces b Z) of each loop Z Z. In this case the strain of the suspender-tab S is borne equally by the whole of the semicircular line of stitching Z', (shown in Fig. 5,) and the tendency to tear the garment is reduced to the minimum. Furthermore, the several lines Z of fastenings reinforce each other and distribute and equalize the strain on the upper garment, those below being reinforced and sustained by those above. The curved fastenings Z by receiving the strain uniformly, as aforesaid, also prevent the gathering or puckering of the band and the garment underneath, as would occur were such fastenings Z arranged straight across the band B. Thus the curved fastenings Z perform several functions, not the least of which is the creation of the arched bearings o l), which insure the free play of the bight of the suspender-tab with the least possible amount of friction or resistance.

There are numerous practical advantages attendant upon the use of my improved garment-support- It is simple and cheap. It

can be made without metallic parts of any kind, thereby avoiding rustv and stain. By its use the Weight of the lower garment is borne by and distributed broadly over both shoulders instead of the narrow lines of shoulderstraps. There is ample scope for adjustment without the aid of buckles. The parts are always in position for immediate and convenient use, there being no danger of displacement or loss. When the upper garment to which the loop-bands B B are applied is a shirt, they, with the tabs, tend constantly to preserve the evenness and alinement of the front and to retain the collar-band in place. The garment-supports are thus especially desirable for use in connection with dress and other sti ff-bosom shirts. Finally, the harnesslike character of the ordinary Suspenders or shoulder-braces is avoided,together with their greater weight and unevenness.

I am aware that it has been proposed to suspend a lower garment upon straps pendent from an upper garment by means of buckles and other metallic contrivances, the use of which my invention is expressly designed to obvia-te. I avoid the use of metal in any form and produce a fiat absolutely iiexible device without folds or doublings of any character, the distinguishing features of which are that a plurality of loops are secured individually and collectively to the upper garment and that the loop-fastenings and bearings are arched to sustain and distribute the strain of the bight of the suspender-tab and facilitate its slip or play laterally in either direction through the loop-strip, as hereinbefore set forth.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An upper garment provided with a series of permanent loops one above the other, said series being disposed upon the surface of said garment in such relation thereto as to receive a suspender-tab for the support of a lower garment, as set forth.

2. An upper garment provided with aseries of permaneutloops disposed upon the surface of the garment one above the other in such relation thereto as to receive a suspender-tab for the support of a lower garment, each loop being individually attached at the bottom to the garment in a curved line to form an arched bearing for said suspender-tab, as set forth.

GEORGE R. PERRY.

Witnesses:

D. W. GARDNER, GEO. WM. MIATT. 

